Christina Aguilera looked like a completely different person when she ditched her usual glam for minimal makeup in her latest photo shoot. Showing off her bare face and freckles, the 37-year-old singer was barely recognizable as she graced the front of Paper magazine.
However, though she didn’t go for her signature scarlet lip on the glossy cover, it doesn’t mean she’s ready to toss out her favorite cosmetics just yet. “I mean, I’m a girl that likes a beat face. Let’s not get it twisted,” she told the publication. “I’ve always been someone that obviously loves to experiment, loves theatrics, loves to create a story line and play a character in a video or through stage. I’m a performer, that’s who I am by nature. But I’m at the place, even musically, where it’s a liberating feeling to be able to strip it all back and appreciate who you are and your raw beauty.”

CREDIT:
Zoey Grossman

As fans know, Xtina has gone through numerous dramatic transformations in the past. She most famously took on an edgier look while promoting 2002’s Stripped before channeling Marilyn Monroe and other Old Hollywood starlets for 2006’s jazzy album, Back to Basics.
“I can’t stay in a stagnant place for too long, which is why I think the position I was in with television just became very stifling,” she explained, referring to her six-season stint as a coach on The Voice. “I need movement, I need to go explore, be an artist, create and transform.”

CREDIT:
Zoey Grossman

The same goes for her approach to motherhood. As the mom to 3-year-old daughter Summer and 10-year-old son Max, she hopes her kids will also be able to go explore through different transformations of themselves.
She said, “I really want to make sure my children are both very confident in the sense that they know who they are and that they won’t be easily swayed by outside opinion.”